Rabada takes centre stage as South Africa beat Australia

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa: Kagiso Rabada took 11 wickets in the match but may yet turn from hero to villain as South Africa beat Australia by six wickets in the second test on Monday to level the four-match series.

South Africa made heavy work of reaching their modest target before captain Faf du Plessis (2) and Theunis de Bruyn (11) guided them to 102 for four.

The victory, however, is likely to be overshadowed by a ban for Rabada who was handed a new charge from the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday after already having a disciplinary hearing on Sunday.

His presence in the remainder of the series remains under threat with match referee Jeff Crowe set to announce the outcome of a hearing into a level two charge against the seamer for brushing against Steve Smith after dismissing the Australian captain in the first innings.

If found guilty, Rabada, who has 15 wickets at an average of 16.80 in the series, will miss the final two games after accumulating eight demerit points to trigger an automatic suspension.

Rabada was also slapped with a lesser level one charge on Monday for his exuberant celebrations when he dismissed David Warner in the second innings.